This invention involves a masking device and the method for using it to cover a hinge half attached to a door or door frame while the surrounding areas are being coated with paint or other surface preparations.
During painting, staining, waxing and similar finishing operations to doors and door frames, it is commonly desired to prevent these coatings from coming in contact with the exposed areas of the hinge halves. It is often required to either shield the hinge halves or remove them entirely until the finishing operations are complete. One method practiced is to remove the door from its frame and to use masking tape and a sharp knife to trim the tape close to the exposed area of each hinge half. Another method practiced is to remove the door from its frame and then remove the hinge fasteners and the hinge halves completely from the door and door frame area. The old method then requires reinstalling the hinge halves after the finishing operations are completed. Both of these methods are objectionable because of the resultant low productivity. Often residual glue or adhesive left over from the taping operation requires a solvent wiping step to completely remove this residue from the exposed areas of the hinge halves. Removing and reinstalling hinge halves adds to the risk of damaging the newly finished door and door frames due to the amount of additional handling and tool usage required to perform the task. Further, hinges that are completely removed and reinstalled later run the risk of mix ups in hinge placement which could prevent proper operation when articulating the door.
Other present day masking devices are used when the door is left in place. These devices only cover the barrel portion of the hinge, and still depend on masking tape or its like to shield flat hinge plate area and its edges. No single device is available that shields both the flat hinge plate area, its edges, and the barrel area of a half hinge which is left mounted to a door or a door frame. None of the prior art devices attain the objects described herein below.